# Using Aikido MCP

Once the MCP server is installed, you don't call these tools yourself. You ask in plain language and your agent picks the right one.

## Available tools

### aikido\_scan\_paths

Scans files that are saved on disk for vulnerabilities (SAST), hardcoded secrets and IaC misconfigurations. This is the preferred scan tool.

* Provide the files to scan in `paths`, absolute or relative to `root`. Directories are rejected, so list each file
* Set `root` to the workspace or repository root so findings are reported relative to it. Paths that are missing or outside `root` are skipped and listed in `skipped_paths`
* Optionally pass `repository_name` when the files come from a repository, so they are linked to that repository in Aikido

### aikido\_full\_scan

Scans code that is passed in as file content, for the cases where the code is not on disk yet: generated but unsaved code, a pasted snippet, or a proposed change. Use `aikido_scan_paths` whenever the files do exist on disk.

* Provide each file in `files_to_scan` as a `relativeFilePath` and its `content`

### aikido\_oss\_dependency\_scan

Scans dependency manifests and lockfiles that are saved on disk for vulnerable, outdated or malicious packages.

* Provide the manifests and lockfiles to scan in `paths`, for example `package.json` and `package-lock.json`, `requirements.txt`, `go.mod` and `go.sum`, or `pom.xml`. Directories are rejected
* Set `root` to the workspace or repository root so findings are reported relative to it
* Optionally pass `repository_name` when the files come from a repository

### aikido\_issues\_list

Fetches security issues from your Aikido feed.

* Filter by scope: `repo_name`, `cloud_name`, `vm_name`, `domain_name`, `container_name`, `workspace_name` or `team_name`
* Optionally narrow a repo scope to a single branch with `repo_branch_name`
* Pick one or more issue types: `sast`, `leaked_secret`, `iac`, `open_source`, `cloud`, `cloud_instance`, `docker_container`, `malware`, `eol`, `mobile`, `surface_monitoring`, `scm_security`, `license`, `ai_pentest`, `ai_code_analysis`
* Filter by `labels` to only return issues on repositories or container images carrying any of the given labels
* Filter by `severity` to only return issues of a certain severity or above a given threshold
* Page through results with `page` (zero-based)
* Filter on SLA by choosing the following filters: `out_of_sla` or `sla_due_soon`
* Returns each issue with title, type, severity, and remediation steps

#### Looking up a single issue

Pass `issue_id` to fetch one issue in detail. It comes back with more than the list view shows:

* `score_reasons`: every reason the issue got its severity, each with a readable explanation and how much it moved the score, for example a known exploit in the wild
* `pentest`: for AI pentest findings, the attack analysis with its summary, risk, reproduction steps, root cause and remediation
* `licenses`: for license issues, the detected license with its legal risk and why

### aikido\_workspaces\_list

Lists the Aikido workspaces you have access to. Your agent uses it to find the exact workspace name before filtering issues by `workspace_name`.

### aikido\_ignore\_issue

Ignores a security issue in the feed. Requires `issue_id` and a `reason`.

### aikido\_unignore\_issue

Unignores a previously ignored issue. Requires `issue_id` and a `reason`.

### aikido\_snooze\_issue

Temporarily hides a security issue in the feed. Requires `issue_id`, a `reason` and a `duration`: `1_day`, `1_week`, `1_month`, `3_months`, `6_months` or `1_year`.

### aikido\_unsnooze\_issue

Unsnoozes a previously snoozed issue. Requires `issue_id`.

### aikido\_adjust\_issue\_severity

Raises or lowers the severity of a security issue. Requires `issue_id`, the new `adjusted_severity` (`critical`, `high`, `medium` or `low`) and a `reason`.

### aikido\_login

Starts the Aikido sign-in flow; returns sign-in URL or confirms you're already signed in.

* Sign-in redirects you to your account's region automatically. Only set `region` (`eu`, `us`, `me`, `au`) if you land in the wrong one
* Use `force_reauth` to switch accounts or sign in again

{% hint style="info" %}
Not all MCP tools are enabled by default. Admins can enable them on the [permissions page](https://app.aikido.dev/settings/integrations/ide/mcp/permissions) for everyone
{% endhint %}

## Example prompts

### Scanning code

* "Use Aikido to scan this file for security issues"
* "Run an Aikido scan on my staged changes to check for secrets before I commit"
* "Scan the files I just edited with Aikido and link them to the `payments-api` repo"

### Reviewing issues by repo

* "Show me all critical Aikido issues in `payments-api`"
* "List any leaked secrets in `frontend-web` from Aikido"
* "What open source vulnerabilities does Aikido see in `api-gateway`?"
* "Show SAST and IaC issues in `infra-core` from Aikido"

### Reviewing issues by cloud, VM, or container

* "List all Aikido cloud issues in `prod-aws`"
* "Show malware findings on `web-server-01` from Aikido"
* "What end-of-life software is running in the `nginx-proxy` container per Aikido?"
* "Show me surface monitoring issues for `example.com` in Aikido"

### Digging into one issue

* "Give me the full details of Aikido issue `12345`"
* "Why is Aikido issue `12345` rated critical? Is there a known exploit?"
* "Walk me through the reproduction steps for the Aikido pentest finding `12345`"

### Managing issues

* "Snooze Aikido issue `12345` for a month, we're fixing it in the next release"
* "Lower the severity of Aikido issue `12345` to low, the endpoint is internal only"
* "Unignore Aikido issue `12345`, the mitigation was removed"
* "Which Aikido workspaces do I have access to?"

### Combined workflows

* "Use Aikido to scan my current changes, then show existing critical issues in the same repo"
* "Check this PR with Aikido and compare against open SAST issues in the repo"

## Controlling when scans run

Aikido does not decide when to scan. Your agent does. A scan happens when the agent calls `aikido_scan_paths`.

So anything you tell the agent about scanning takes effect straight away, for the rest of the session.

### Pause scanning

* "Don't run any Aikido scans until I ask for one."
* "Pause Aikido scanning while I iterate on this."
* "Skip the Aikido scan for now, I'll ask for one before we commit."

### Scan once at the end instead of after every edit

* "Don't scan after each edit. Run one Aikido scan when the whole task is done."
* "Run an Aikido scan on my staged changes right before I commit, not before that."

### Keep scans small

Scan time scales with how much code goes in, so narrowing the scope is usually faster than switching scanning off.

* "Only scan the files you changed, not the whole directory."
* "Scan `src/payments/` only."
* Prefer `aikido_scan_paths` over `aikido_full_scan`. It reads the files from disk instead of passing their content through the conversation.

### Make it your default

A prompt instruction lasts for one session. To change the default for every session, put the same instruction in your agent's rules file (`CLAUDE.md`, `.cursor/rules`, `AGENTS.md`, and so on):

```
Run an Aikido scan only when I explicitly ask for one, or before a commit.
```